Drifting into Your Lane
by AutumnDreamer
Summary: Edward, a school bus driver, gets assigned a new monitor for his run. Drifting through life, he grows to like Bella, but she never stays in one place for long. By the end of the school year, can Edward convince her to stay, or will she drift away?
1. The Wheels on the Bus

**A/N:** As always, thanks to my beta Bridget for putting up with my craziness. This story was originally thought up when I saw a "Write What You Know" contest. I joked with two online buddies (Betty & Liz) that my entry would be boring and dumb. I've been a school bus driver since 1997. I'd have to have Edward as a driver and Bella as the monitor on his bus that he falls in love with. Their response? "Do it! Yes!" With a lot of internet provoking and prodding on their parts, I decided to start writing. Guess what? I couldn't even enter the contest because they wanted completed fics.

**DRIFTING INTO YOUR LANE**

Edward, a school bus driver, gets assigned a new monitor for his run. Drifting through life, he grows to like Bella, but she never stays in one place for long. By the end of the school year, can Edward convince her to stay, or will she drift away?

Rated M for language.

**Chapter 1: The Wheels on the Bus**

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round."

_I'm going to kill someone, kill someone, kill someone, kill someone, kill someone._

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town!"

_I'm going to throw out that damn tape of yours, damn tape yours, damn tape of yours…_

"The people on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down."

_Are they having sex on a damn bus? In a children's song! How perverted am I?_

"The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep."

_I swear I'm gonna kill her for bringing this tape again, tape again, tape again…._

"The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish."

_A knife slicing through the air right before it lands in Jessica's heart goes swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish…_

"The babies on the bus go waa, waa, waa, waa, waa, waa."

_The only baby on this bus is me but with good cause!_

It was the first day of school, and things had already started off on the wrong foot. My new monitor, who I had never even met, had been a no show, so I was left with Jessica. Again. Kill. Me. Now. She was on my bus with me last year, and she drove me up a fucking wall. The kids I transported were autistic, but she insisted on playing little kiddie music over and over again on our hour long ride with them, although none of them fit in that age bracket. I was going bat shit crazy, and it was just the first day.

If my new monitor didn't show up this afternoon, I planned on killing both her and Jessica. She also better have a damn good excuse as to where the hell she was this morning.

"Edward?"

_Oh, God, even nasally her voice grated on my nerves._

"Yes, Jessica?" I glanced back in the rearview mirror to see Jessica staring intently at me from the second seat. Poor Brandon had to sit right near her every morning for the entire ride. Poor kid. If he could talk, I was sure he'd tell her to shut the fuck up.

"After we drop off the kids, can we stop at the bagel place?"

_Sure, so I can drive off and leave your ass behind._ "Yeah, sounds good."

Outwardly I smiled, but on the inside, I was banging my head against the steering wheel. Stopping for a bagel meant I had to spend another five minutes in the presence of Jessica Stanley. I already spent over four hours a day with the woman. Another five minutes wouldn't push me over the edge, would it? What could I kill her with? I was on a damn school bus, there had to be something. Think, Masen, think! What were you supposed to check on your pre-trip? Shit, all that stuff was automatic to me after all these years.

Emergency reflectors? No, not heavy enough.

The first aid kit? No, it might knock her out, but it wouldn't kill her.

Maybe she'd walk into one of the mirrors outside and knock her own ass out. She was that fucking stupid and clumsy.

The fire extinguisher! Blunt force trauma to her head! _Yes!_

The sound of a car horn behind me brought me out of my homicidal daze. Driving through the now green light, I made a right hand turn onto the road to get to Tyson's school. I didn't know how the hell my boss thought setting up my run this way was actually going to work this year. Tyson's school started at eight o'clock while Brandon, Xavier, and David's school started at eight forty-five. Their schools were only eleven minutes apart. We were going to be sitting in the second school's parking lot for at least a half an hour. No matter what the weather, we were not supposed to idle our buses for more than five minutes. We were in frickin' New York state and experienced cold, sometimes downright freezing, winters. What the hell was I supposed to do then? I asked my boss that exact question, and he replied with, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Literal translation? "I don't give a fuck."

That was my boss. The ever loyal, kind hearted, charismatic, charitable, and loving Aro Douglas. If you believe that version of Aro, I have an island to sell you. Reaching for my trusty travel mug, I took a quick swig of coffee to wash down the taste of puke from my mouth. That's what thinking of my boss did to me.

It's not that I didn't like my job. Actually, I didn't mind the job itself. I had grown to hate the people that ran the place and most of my fellow co-workers. When I first started, a few weeks after I turned twenty-one and was able to apply for a CDL permit, the bus company was run by its vice president, Charlotte McBride. While she was a stern and overbearing woman, she was fair and didn't call her employees names behind their backs as soon as they walked away. An old friend, who quit two years after I started to move on to greener pastures, had suggested the job to earn some good money. Charlotte was flexible and understanding of my schedule with college. I would inform her of my schedule for the semester and she'd work with me, giving me enough hours to be able to afford to live and take a class or two. The one thing I always liked about Charlotte was her fairness. If you stayed on her good side by doing your job, doing it right, and not pissing her off, then she was fair to you. Everyone knew that you did not want to piss off Charlotte McBride. Unfortunately, she was an older woman with many health problems and died about a year and a half after I had started. By now, I often imagined Charlotte not rolling, but spinning—very fast, may I add—in her grave at how the bus company was being run. It was a shadow of its former self.

It didn't take a genius to know that the owner and president, Caius Douglas, didn't really want to run day by day operations of the business. And that was when his stepson, Aro, took over the reigns at the bus company and I started officially calling my job "The Hell Hole." The ringtone on my phone for my job was a clip of "Take This Job and Shove It."

Aro, otherwise dubbed as "Assholio" by the nickname king and my best friend Emmett, was not management material. He was the farthest thing from it. If you weren't a new driver or didn't kiss his ass, you didn't get extra work. Two years ago he switched every single employee around—drivers and monitors—and pissed everyone off. No one was happy with the run they were on. No one liked that they had been separated from a person they had worked with for years. No one received a raise that year. And yet, oddly enough, no one left.

I had to admit it, I had become like my fellow employees. None of them would admit it either, but we were all drifting through life. Driving a freakin' school bus shouldn't be a damn career, not in my opinion anyway. I felt stuck to some degree. I didn't know what I even wanted to do with my life anymore. I was comfortable getting up and going to work every morning, making fun of my co-workers and their gossip mill, going back home, and doing it the next day. When Aro initiated the big switch, he put me on a run that meant driving an hour away and it seriously killed my time between bus runs. There was slim to little chance that I could schedule a class between ten-thirty and twelve thirty, have time to grab something for lunch, and still remain sane. I found myself too damn tired to be motivated enough to take night classes.

I was tired of drifting, but I didn't know what to do about it.

Yawning, I put on my right blinker and entered the road to Tyson's school. It was only the first day of the school year, I was having homicidal thoughts involving Jessica, and I knew Tyson was going be a handful. He didn't want to keep his seat belt on and Jessica had to get him off the floor twice during the ride. The lovely child also spit on the window, tore a page out of his book, and slapped Jessica. While Jessica was a pain in the ass, I felt a little bad that she had gotten slapped by Tyson.

Entering the parking lot, I pulled up behind the other buses and waited to let Tyson out. I told his teacher what he had done on the ride, and she seemed overly surprised. When he reached out and pinched her I held back saying, "Bitch, I told you so!" right to her face. Secretly, I was glad that my time was spent behind the wheel and I didn't have much direct contact with him. If I did, I would be tempted to wear a cup. There was little doubt in my mind a kid like that would quickly go for the groin area.

I tried to drive as slowly as possible to our next destination, but it was harder than it sounded. Keeping up with traffic was more my speed, and I pulled the bus into the empty parking lot of Brandon and David's school a half an hour early. Xavier had to be taken to a building next door, but his schedule was the same as Brandon and David's and more buses lined up at this building, so it made sense to come and wait here first.

Turning off the bus, I got up from my seat and stretched my legs. Brandon undid his seatbelt and stood next to me. I never understood why, but the kid seemed to like me. He would stand next to me, smiling the entire time, imitating my movements as I stood on the steps and stretched my calves. "Brandon, how are you doing big guy?" I asked, but knew I would never receive a verbal response. He laughed at my words and raised his hand in my direction. I reached out, held my palm out toward him, and he slapped his palm against my own. Like he did almost every day last year, he grabbed onto my hand and played with it, tracing the lines in my palm and twisting my fingers. "We're going to be waiting here for a bit longer than last year, Brandon." He responded by emitting a noise that I had heard a million times before, but I didn't know what it meant.

The good thing about having to sit at the school was that once the bus was off, the music also stopped. I didn't want to scar these poor kids for life by killing Jessica in front of them. To pass the time, I continued a one side conversation with Brandon. Xavier would interrupt, saying something totally random and out of the blue in his stilted way of talking, and I'd try to engage in conversation with him. Jessica sat with David, who spoke very little, playing with his not usual for his age stuffed animals.

When eight forty-five finally rolled around, the teachers and aides streamed out of the building, searching for their students. I stood outside, searching for any familiar faces from the year before. After Brandon and David's teachers had taken them into school, I drove next door to Xavier's building and dropped him off. I drove down the street and pulled into the parking lot of the mini mall where the bagel place was. We went inside, purchased our items, and went right back out to the bus. I set up my breakfast on the dog house for easy access when I hit the highway. For part of the way, Jessica tried to talk my damn ear off. I think she got the clue when I stopped responding to her asinine topics of conversation. I'd rather hear silence than Jessica Stanley's voice.

When we arrived back at base, I pulled up to the fuel pumps and Jessica left with a simple "See you later" as she walked away. God, I fucking hoped not.

_Yo, big man up there, I can't put up with her every day. I'll try to cut down on the hardcore swearing if you help me out a bit!_

On the way through the parking lot to my car, I spotted Jasper's ass literally hanging out of an engine of a bus, so I went and caught up with him for a few minutes before going home. Later in the day, I arrived at work about a half an hour earlier than I needed to. My friends and I always did. We sat around the break room and shot the shit, played cards, and occasionally we'd split lunch when we had some extra cash. That last one didn't take place all that often.

"Okay, Emmett, it's your turn," I said, taking another quick glance at my cards.

"Go fish."

Yeah, not exactly the type of card game we wanted to play, but we couldn't gamble at work, so poker was out. Today's choice was up to Emmett, and he chose the old classic kiddie game of Go Fish. I think it was because he was a kid at heart himself.

"I'm tired of this shit," Rose said from her place next to Emmett. "Let's go outside."

Alice laughed at Rose. "You're just a sore loser, loser!"

"What happened to the Uno deck?" I asked. "At least that was an adult game."

Everyone threw their cards into the middle of the table and Emmett collected them. "They disappeared like half the shit around here."

"Figures," I said. "I'll meet you guys out there. I have to find out who's going with me this afternoon."

"Have fun talking to _Demetri_." Emmett laughed and hurried out the door.

Rolling my eyes, I walked away from the table and toward the office. I knew they hated it when people leaned on the counter and stood there, so that's what I did. I was a prick like that, at least, when I needed to be. I could play the role.

"Can I help you, Edward?" Demetri asked from behind his computer screen. His voice sounded a little too happy when he spoke to me.

"Yeah, who's going with me this afternoon?" I asked, hoping to keep my conversation with him as business as possible.

"Your new monitor called earlier and she should be in shortly," he said with an air of cocky self confidence. "Do you want me to send her out to your bus when she comes in?"

"That'd be great, thanks." Turning, I quickly left the area, walked through the break room, and out the back door. I made my way toward where my friends were standing, in front of a row of out of service buses.

"Who's your pal this afternoon?" Emmett asked as I approached. "Do you have _Jessica_ again?"

"No, the new girl is going to be here," I supplied, punching Emmett in the arm. He knew how much I detested Jessica. "Whoever 'I. Swan' is."

"You never bothered to find out what your new monitor's name is?" Rose asked.

Folding my arms across my chest, I stared at Emmett and Rose. "You know, not all of us need to find out every single detail about our monitors because we end up sleeping with them, Rose."

She took a step in my direction and glared at me. "Lower your fucking voice," she growled. "It's already a rumor. If Assholio and Fruit Loops get any solid proof, they'll take Emmett off of my run."

"Sorry, I didn't say it that too loud, did I?"

Alice stepped in front of Rose and calmed her down. "No, Edward, you didn't say it that loud at all." She snapped her fingers in front of Rose. "Down girl, down!"

"Listen here, short stuff, I'm gonna knock you off your block one of these fucking days!"

There were some days when I couldn't tell if these two were joking or not. "Girls, if you're going to fight, please wait until Emmett and I can get you both a nice bikini and a huge vat of Jell-o to wrestle in."

"Oh!" Emmett's eyes were glazed over. "The images you put in my head. Christ man, where can I go to tug one out?"

I pointed to the out of service bus in front of us. "Although, I'll be damned if I'm standing guard and listening to your moans of self pleasure."

Jasper's head popped out of the door. "No fucking or tugging on the buses, damn it! Who do you think has to end up cleaning that shit up? Me!" He pointed a finger at Emmett. "I've already had to clean up your spilt semen once before, I'll be damned if I'm doing it again!"

"Hey, baby, what are you doing over here?" Alice asked sweetly. Jasper stepped out of the bus and stood next to Alice. He hovered over her short frame and she smiled up at him.

"I was fixing some of the seats in the back that got torn and ripped during a trip in the summer," he explained. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Jasper and Alice's relationship was well known around work. Since they didn't directly work with one another, there was nothing Assholio and Fruit Loops could do. Jasper was a mechanic in the garage while Alice was a monitor. There were plenty of employees who had relatives that worked here, but they didn't like people who were involved in a relationship being on the same bus run. They claimed it was a conflict of interest type of deal.

"Oh, Eddie, look at what is standing in front of your buuuusssss." Emmett sang the last word out in a teasing fashion. Turning, I spotted a female with her back against the hood of my van, her gaze trained on the pavement, and her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a simple pair of pale blue denim shorts and a dark pink t-shirt that had seen better days. Her dark brown hair was in a pony tail, set high on the back of her head. She was cute. I turned back in the direction of my friends and Emmett whistled until Rose elbowed him in the ribs.

"You sure as hell will be tugging that shit out tonight, jack ass." She practically hissed the last word out. "Don't come looking for me!"

"Aw, Rosie, baby!"

Jasper and I laughed. "Man, you made your grave, now you'll have to tug one out in it," Jasper said. "Enjoy your dark hole of cum. I gotta get back to work before Newton takes a rest from watching porn and decides to hunt me down and watch what I'm doing over my shoulder."

"You should be head mechanic over Newton," I said. "How the hell he got that position, I'll never know."

"He let Fruit Loops take him over an engine block for good measure," Emmett said. "Not a fact, just a theory."

The previously mentioned Demetri Rand, otherwise known as Fruit Loops thanks to Emmett, was as gay as I was straight. Everyone knew he was, but he stayed in the closet out of whatever fear he had. Personally, as long as he didn't hit on me, I didn't care if he was gay and who or what he fucked—as long as he wasn't some sicko that messed with children. I didn't like him because he was a stuck up asshole, plain and simple.

"Edward, pizza at your place Friday?" Jasper asked, effectively changing the conversation.

"Man, I've been on unemployment the last two and a half weeks, I'm broke," I explained. "Maybe in another two weeks?"

Jasper glanced down at Alice quickly before turning to Emmett and me. "Bitch, the only socialization I've had in the last month is with my girlfriend. I'll spring for the pizza and you can get the movie out of RedBox or _obtain_ something for all I care. I need some man time!"

"Maybe you should go talk to Fruit Loops," Emmett said. "He might take you under his wing."

Jasper was full time and made more hours, and thus, more money, than all of us. There were times when we wanted to hang out but didn't have the cash to do so. He was generous and helped out when he could, but I didn't want to let him think that I was taking advantage of him. "Just one pie, Jasper."

"Oh, please, you know we need two," he said with a shake of his head. "Get some good flicks and games."

Jasper leaned down and placed a kiss on Alice's forehead before walking past me and patting me on the shoulder. "You're a good man, Jasper Whitlock," I said as he walked away. "I should get going. Whatshername is probably wondering where her driver is."

"Find out what her name is and if she's good people or not," Alice said. "You know, if we should invite her into our inner circle or keep her at arm's length like Jessica."

"Yeah, Jessica's stacked, but she's one annoying bitch." Emmett received another jab in the ribs from Rose because of his comment.

"Emmett, you're standing next to your… her, ya know?" I reminded him. "Learn to fucking filter yourself."

"Yeah, filter yourself, damn it!" Rose appeared as if she was ready to smack Emmett. "I can't stop you from looking at Jessica's rack, but I don't want to know that you like it!"

Alice, ever exuberant, gave me a hug before walking over to her van and waiting for her driver. I walked with my remaining two friends, Emmett and I both wrapping an arm around Rose for show. Saying good-bye to them, I removed my arm from Rose's waist and they continued into the yard with the big buses. Reaching my vehicle, I stopped in front of the girl who was still standing there patiently. I couldn't help but notice that she was even cuter up close. Actually, she was quite beautiful. "I. Swan I take it?"

She raised her gaze from the pavement, stared at me, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips, but she still didn't speak. Extending my hand in her direction, I decided to introduce myself. "Edward Masen, it's nice to finally meet you."

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, you know the story if you've read my stuff before. I love reviews. Hit me up.


	2. The New Girl

**DISCLAIMER:**I'm not Stephenie Meyer.

**A/N:** Thanks for the good reviews on the first chapter. I hope to balance the home and work life of Edward and Bella and not get too technical. If I mention something and you don't know what I'm talking about, feel free to ask. The story is set in NY since I live and work in NY and know the rules and regulations.

* * *

**Chapter 2:The New Girl  
**

"Good afternoon, Isabella!" Demetri greeted me with a smile as I entered the inner sanctum of the bus company. His smile creeped me out, like it wasn't natural for him to be nice. I sensed a true fakeness to his outwardly warm greeting.

"Good afternoon, Demetri." I tried to sound as nice and sweet as possible. Yes, I was metaphorically kissing some ass. I needed this job and didn't want to blow it. "I'm sorry about this morning."

"We understand." Demetri was sitting behind a desk, his face stretched up and over the monitor in order to see me. "The fact that you did not leave your friend alone at the hospital speaks volumes in regards to your character. Your driver has gone outside."

Immediately I panicked at his words. "Oh, am I late?"

"No, dear, you're not late," he reassured me. "Edward and his merry band of misfits are always early, which is the nicest thing I can say about them." Rising from his seat, he grabbed a sheet of paper, walked in my direction, and handed it over the counter to me. "Here is a copy of the run sheet for you. Please acquaint yourself with the directions and the kids. If Edward is ever absent, it may fall upon you to direct a substitute along the route." Demetri pointed to a specific location on the sheet. "Edward's bus is van number forty-seven. He leaves around one twenty, so you still have some time left. As you know from when you were here for your orientation, we supply coffee and tea, so help yourself. When you're ready, walk out the back door, go along the side of the building, and you will find the van parked along the fence."

"Okay, thank you." I glanced up from the sheet to find Demetri glaring at me very oddly. "I'll grab a cup of coffee and then go out to the bus and wait for Edward."

"Very good, dear," he said. "Welcome to Volturi Transit." I turned and walked away as his lips formed into another insincere smile.

I checked my watch and saw that I had another twenty minutes before we were scheduled to leave. Stopping at the coffee maker, I poured myself a cup, added milk and sugar, and then scanned the area. The break room was packed with a varying array of people. Instead of standing idly around, I spotted a small, round table and opted to sit at it. I studied the sheet Demetri had given me, reading the kids' names and addresses. I was trying to make sense of the directions, but it was kind of hard since I wasn't originally from the area. It sounded as if we had to go on three different highways to get to our destination, and it made me nervous.

"Hi, you must be new!"

Raising my head to the sound of the annoying nasally voice, I saw three girls standing before me. They plopped down in the other folding chairs that surrounded the table. The one in the middle reached out and snatched the run sheet from my hand.

"Oh, _you're_ with Edward!" Her voice sounded happy, but her facial expression showed something entirely different. The other two girls exchanged glances and smiled at one another.

The girl on the left spoke up. "Jessica, you need to stop being jealous that you're no longer with Edward."

Jessica's mouth hung open at the girl's comment. "I am not jealous, Angela! Besides, I wasn't _with_ Edward."

The girl on the right snorted. "You liar," she said. "I know you had something going on. With the way Masen looks, it's hard to believe he hasn't slept with half the girls here." The snorter extended her hand to me, and I accepted it against my better judgment. "I'm Lauren, and this is Jessica and Angela."

"You just need to be careful and watch out… what's your name?" Jessica asked.

"Bella," I said. "Why do I have to be careful and watch out?"

"Edward and his group of rejects," she explained. "If they're not getting into trouble, they're creating it or looking for it. Feel free to stare at him all you want, but never make him yours. He's the love 'em and leave 'em type, you know? Edward may be good looking, but he's really a loser."

I noticed that Angela rolled her eyes at Jessica's tirade and wondered how much she embellished the truth. "Oh, stop it, Jess." Angela said. "You're just jealous you're no longer with Edward. You don't get to stare at him for four hours a day now. Who's your driver this afternoon?"

Jessica appeared as if she was going to get sick at Angela's question. "Mike Newton and this is going to be an afternoon of pure hell, that's for sure. Both of us are subs on the run and don't know the kids. And, then of course, it's Newton that I'm with. He has to tear himself away from his office downstairs in the garage and the porn on the computer to actually work."

Lauren smiled at Jessica's words. "Poor baby! Why don't you give Newton a reason to stop looking at porn? Flash him those big titties of yours!"

I couldn't believe that one friend would suggest that to another friend. It didn't make sense to me! I had hardly touched my coffee, so I took a big gulp of it, hoping not to burn my throat in the process. Angela looked at me and for some reason I didn't understand why she was with Jessica and Lauren. "Don't take what Jessica says to heart."

"I am just warning the girl, that's all!" Jessica exclaimed with flourish. Some coworkers at a table behind us stared at Jessica.

From behind me and off to the left, I heard a door open and close. Jessica looked up and blanched at whoever was walking in our direction. "I think we leave now, Jess," the voice said.

I glanced up to see a blond haired man staring at Jessica. "Okay, girls, that's my cue to leave. Catch ya later!"

Jessica got up and I felt someone staring at me. Looking up, I caught who I presumed to be Mike Newton eyeing me like I was a glass of water and he was in a desert. "Hey, sweet cheeks, are you new?"

"Her name is Bella, asshole. Use it." Angela sternly told him.

"I've got to get going myself." Folding the run sheet, I stood and shoved it into my back pocket. "Nice meeting you, Angela." I smiled at her and left, heading straight to the back door. It didn't faze me that I failed to mention Jessica, Lauren, and Mike when I said good-bye. Angela seemed nice, but I wasn't too sure about Jessica and Lauren. As for Mike, my first instinct was to avoid him like the plague if there was any truth to what Jessica said about him.

Practically hugging the building, I walked past a round, red metal picnic table and in between a bus and the garage. At the end of the building I spotted van forty-seven across from it, but no one was sitting inside. I checked my watch again. It was still before one-twenty, so I was safe from meeting Edward for another few minutes. I wondered if I should listen to Jessica's warnings about Edward or if Angela was correct. Maybe I'd just have to figure Edward out for myself. In all honesty, I shouldn't even care. In a few months, I hoped to be out of this town and on to the next one. Leaning against the van, I felt the early September sun against my skin. Not really wanting to engage in conversation with any other coworkers that may have walked by, I kept my eyes trained to the ground.

Off to the right I heard rambunctious laughter coming from a group of people. Keeping my gaze trained to the ground, I tried to watch them out of the corner of my eye. There were three men, two of them whose backs faced my direction. The biggest one turned and saw me. The other one turned quickly and looked away. From the quick glance, I knew that he was handsome. Jessica made Edward out to be some good looking big player and Demetri said he had gone outside. Could that be him? I could surely understand Angela's comment about Jessica staring at Edward for four hours a day.

The tall blond man started to walk toward my direction and then went into the garage. As he approached I could tell he was dressed in a uniform like Mike had been and that he was one of the mechanics. The short little black-haired girl the blond guy had kissed went and hugged the gorgeous one and then practically danced off to another bus in the yard. That left the handsome one, the big tall guy, and the gorgeous blonde girl all standing together.

The three of them could all be models on a cover of a magazine. Hell, the other two could be as well. It was easy to imagine them modeling for something like Abercrombie and Fitch. The three of them started to walk in my direction and I grew increasingly nervous, but I didn't understand why. The two men walked on either side of the gorgeous blonde, each one had of their arms wrapped around her as they walked together. I heard the handsome one say good-bye to the remaining two, and then I felt him approach me. At that very moment, I was torn if I wanted him to be Edward or just another douche bag at this place.

He stopped in front of me and spoke. "I. Swan, I take it?"

I raised my head and dared to look at him. Damn, he was even better looking in person. I impulsively licked my lips and tried to think of what to say.

_Introducing yourself would be a good start, dumbass!_

He extended his hand toward me. "Edward Masen, it's nice to finally meet you," he said. Shit, he had a gorgeous voice. He could do voice over work for TV and radio commercials.

I finally managed to untangle my limbs and tongue and extended my hand to him. Edward's hand felt so warm and inviting in mine, not cold and clammy like my hand probably felt. "That's me," I said, trying to breathe. "It's Isabella, but please, call me Bella."

"What's the story about this morning?" he asked. "I'm still trying to decide if I should be mad at you for missing work or not."

_Asshole flag!_

"I'm so sorry!" I tried not cry. "My roommate was sick, and I had to take him to the hospital. We were there all night. I got home at four in the morning and I set the alarm so I could catch some sleep, but I totally overslept and didn't wake up until eleven."

He looked at me, his face full of doubt, but he waited to speak until I was finished with my explanation. "Ah, okay, so you're a good friend. I'm down with that." He smiled at me. "We should get going."

_Good guy flag!_

I lied. And while I hated to lie to Edward or to anyone in particular, Demetri and Edward didn't need to know all the horrible details of why I was at the hospital or why I was late. It wasn't any of their business. It was between me and Tyler, and I knew that Tyler wasn't going to tell anyone. Edward went to his door, opened it, and hopped inside. He pressed a button and the passenger door slowly opened. I stepped inside, climbed up the short set of stairs, and sat in the front seat off to Edward's right hand side. Edward shut both doors and quickly removed a tape from the radio. Standing up into the aisle, he grabbed the dark ribbon and pulled it out. Throwing it on the floor, he stomped on it repeatedly before throwing it in the garbage.

"I'm not crazy, I swear it," he said, taking out a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket and putting them on. "That was a tape Jessica made which drives me crazy. She's a little slow on the uptake and never got a clue."

"Okkkkkay." I sat back and wondered what the hell I was going to do for the next hour. I never thought to bring a book with me. I'd have to go to the library and pick out something. Edward started the bus, and as he pulled out of his parking space, the tall blond man from earlier appeared by the garage. Rolling down his window, Edward steered the bus toward his direction. "See you Friday night, Jasper!"

"Get some good movies, bitch!"

"Don't skimp on the pizza!" Laughing, he rolled up his window and drove to the end of the lot. A few minutes later we were on the highway, and I dug the run sheet Demetri had given me out of my back pocket.

I had been staring out the window, paying attention to where we were going when Edward's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Okay, here's the deal. It can be a long damn drive every day. When we don't have the kids on the bus, I don't care if you read, take a nap, play iPod or cell phone, a PSP, or whatever. But when the kids are on the bus, I fully expect you to be paying attention to them."

He could have delivered his speech in a million different ways. Coming from most people, it would have sounded patronizing, but it didn't. "What do I need to know about the kids?" I asked curiously. The only thing on the run sheet was their name, address, and the directions to the schools.

"We go to three schools right now. The first one is where Tyson goes, and I can tell he's is going to be a handful. He's about ten or eleven, and I never had him before. Pick a lane, damn it!" Edward slowed the bus, checked his mirrors and then continued. "Sorry, Tyson doesn't want to keep his seat belt on. He talks some, but sometimes you can't understand what he says. I talked to the driver that had him last year and they told me that they had problems with him too. Their overall impression of the kid was that he's smart and knows what he's doing. Oh, and I may have a potty mouth, but I keep it in check in front of the kids."

I smiled to myself. "Understandable. What about the other kids?"

"Brandon doesn't speak at all," he said. "If he stops in front of you and crosses his arms in front of his chest, it means he wants a hug. You can tell him no. Brandon is about ten or eleven. Xavier just turned seventeen in June. He does talk, but you could ask him the same question twice in a row and he'll give you different answers each time. Xavier sits in the back and makes lots of noises and looks out the back window. If he asks you for a massage, it means he wants you to scratch his back."

"Okay, thanks for telling me about that," I said. "Or otherwise, I'd wonder what he meant exactly."

"It took us a while to figure that out in the beginning," he admitted. "David is about nine. He talks a little bit too, but he's hard to understand. You really have to listen to him. If he starts making certain noises, you have to watch out." Edward tried to imitate the noise for me. "It means something is going on in that little head of his and he's going to go off. He's a bit of a small kid, but David can pack a punch when he goes off. His mom sends a bag of stuffed animals with him every day. Sometimes he plays with them, sometimes he doesn't. That's all I can think of that might be of importance to you."

"You don't know anything else about them?"

"Sweetie, the only thing I know for sure is the information you see on that run sheet you have," he explained. "Everything else we learn from dealing with them on an everyday basis or if the parents volunteer any information. I'm only assuming all of them are autistic from what I've learned about autism. There could be other things wrong with them some of them too. I haven't the slightest clue. Do you mind oldies?"

"Oldies music you mean?"

I noticed Edward was merging onto another highway. I compared it to the exit number on the run sheet and it matched. "Yeah, oldies music."

"Yeah, I don't mind oldies. Why?" I asked.

"It's the only station that comes in when we hit the mountain," he explained. "Hence forth why Jessica made that stupid tape with kiddie music on it and why I stomped it to bits. The kids may be autistic, but they aren't stupid. They aren't four, and none of them actually seem to be on the age level of a four year old either." Edward clicked on the radio and the sounds of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons drifted through the back speakers. "Oh man, Xavier is missing out on some good stuff. The last time Frankie was on, Xavier lit up for some reason."

Jessica had to be wrong about Edward. This guy—he couldn't be an asshole. There was no way. An asshole wouldn't have told me so much information about the kids he drives. He would have never noticed one of them being interested in the music of Frankie Valli.

The rest of the ride was spent in mostly silence. I tried to pay attention to where we were going and to get the feel of the area we passed through. When we pulled up to the first school, we waited ten minutes in a line up with other buses. Restless, I grabbed the broom from the back of the bus and swept the floor. Edward grabbed the bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels from up front and cleaned the inside of the windshield.

When Tyson got on the bus, I immediately sensed trouble. I could've sworn that he gave me an evil glare as he sat in the seat behind Edward. "Tyson, put your seat belt on for Bella."

Tyson moved over to the window and stared at me, not putting his seat belt on. "Tyson, put your seat belt on." I said sternly. His eyes squinted at me before he reached for the seat belt and put it on. Yup, I feared this kid was going to be a handful. On the way to our second school, Tyson made some noises and looked out the window. He started saying the word "book" over and over. Edward told me that Tyson had a book in his book bag he could look at. Opening his bag, I found the book and gave it to him. I thought he was going to hit me in the head with it. Edward explained to me how we had to wait in another line up at Brandon and David's school. Very slowly, we moved forward until Edward was told to park against the curb, and then we waited while Brandon and David's teacher's brought them out. Edward instructed me on where they each sat—each one in a second seat—and that they could put their seat belts on by themselves. Tyson tried to take his seat belt off, but I sat across from him and told him to put it back on. He finally relented, but not before I noticed David seemed to be upset at my raised voice, and clicked the seatbelt back on across his lap. Edward drove over to Xavier's school next door, and he boarded the bus almost immediately. I went in the back and watched as Xavier put on his seatbelt and then he looked at me with wonder.

"You are?" he asked.

"I'm Bella, it's nice to meet you Xavier."

"Hi, Bella!" He rocked back and forth in his seat and flapped his ears quickly with each hand.

"Um, Bella, a little help up here, please." I heard Edward's voice and turned to see Tyson standing next to Edward. We were on a main road with no place to pull over, but Edward had slowed the bus to a crawl and kept it straight as I carefully rushed to the front. I don't remember how I managed to get Tyson back into his seat, but I did.

"I'm so sorry about that, Edward," I apologized. "I didn't know he was going to do that."

"Don't worry, he surprised me," he said. "All of a sudden Tyson was just standing there. I wasn't expecting it. I'll have to wait to leave Xavier's school until he's all settled and you can come back up front."

"Sounds like a good plan to me."

The rest of the afternoon went smoother. Tyson continued to test me on multiple occasions, trying to take off his seatbelt. He thought he was sneaky, but I caught him. He went off on the window once, hitting with his forehead and then breaking out in tears. I tried reading to him, but he didn't seem to want that. He held onto his book, but didn't look at it himself either. I tried to pay attention to all the kids, but it was mostly Tyson that took my attention. David tried to get me to play with him, but it was hard to with most of my attention focused on Tyson.

The ride back went faster, and Edward had the radio on set to the oldies station. I noticed Brandon seemed to enjoy the music as much as Xavier. He rocked back and forth in his seat, clapping at times, smiling, and in a generally good mood. I had never met him, though, so maybe he was always that way. Xavier sat in the back, watching the cars come up behind us. He would randomly repeat verses of some of the songs, and I tried not to laugh when he started singing along to "Heatwave." I looked up and caught Edward taking a quick glance in his overhead mirror at Xavier before his eyes went back to the road. He had a smile on his face and I'll be damned if he was trying not to laugh too.

Before I knew it, we had hit town and on our way to our first drop off. I was so glad when Edward filled me in and told me that Tyson was the first to go home! Edward explained to Tyson's father what happened with him in the morning and in the afternoon. Tyson's father stated that Tyson kept his seatbelt on in the car all the way to South Dakota. Yeah, well, being with a parent in a car and being on a bus were obviously two different things for Tyson.

Now that the seeker of most of my attention was gone, I was able to sit with David and play with him. He leaned against my side with his arm wrapped around mine, and looked up at me with a huge smile.

"Guhhhhhh." At least, that's what it sounded like. Edward wasn't kidding when he stated that David made a lot of noises. We dropped the rest of the students off, and then Edward drove back to base. He backed up the bus into the spot and opened the door so I could leave.

"Thanks, Bella," he said while looking down at what I knew was his log book. "You did a good job this afternoon. We leave at six forty-five in the morning."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Good night, Bella."

With his final words, I disembarked the bus and went inside the building to punch my time card. I exited the front door, walked out of the lot, and took the shoe leather express toward home.;

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**A/N:** Reviews are like chocolate... I can't get enough. :)


	3. Restrain

**Disclaimer:** I'm not Stephenie Meyer, however, I am a school bus driver.

**A/N:** I'm glad there's some of you out there that are enjoying this little fic. I'm trying very hard not to get too technical with the terms or too into the kids. If you ever have a question about something, feel free to drop me a line. I've never had a problem chatting with my readers.

Some of you have mentioned that you think Edward is very caring because he knows things about the kids and cares about them. Um, that's what a good bus driver does. Basically, this is how me and my monitor have dealt with our kids (as in the kids on our bus, I've never given birth and never want to) since we've been together. All the kids in the fic are a combination of several kids I've driven in the past.

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**Chapter 3: Restrain  
**

Things had gone better than I had expected this afternoon. Considering it was her first day, I thought Bella handled the kids really well. It seemed like Brandon, David, and Xavier liked her, but Tyson continued to give her a hard time like he had with Jessica. I had a sneaking suspicion that Tyson was difficult with many people. At the time that we got back, no one was around—that I liked anyway—so I went to my car and headed home. Down the street from the bus company I could've sworn that I saw Bella walking along the side of the road. She didn't have a car? I was tempted to stop and ask her if she needed a ride, but I didn't know her that well. Would she accept my offer? Maybe I'd try to talk to her more tomorrow, test the waters with her, and see what was going on.

It was still fairly early, four-thirty to be exact, and I was restless for some reason. I vacuumed because I had two cats and one of them was a pain in the ass long hair. I preferred cats to dogs since you didn't have to walk them and they didn't bark. My cats were strictly indoors only because the apartment complex where I lived was off of a busy main road. I would not freely admit to anyone that I was a sap about one of my feline companions. That just wasn't the manly thing to do and I wanted to keep my "Man Card." If Sabrina ever managed to escape outside and got hit by a car, I know I'd lose it. I never thought I'd get so attached to the little black and white tuxedo cat. As I was sitting in my computer chair questioning what I should make for dinner, Sabrina walked up to me and rubbed her furry body against my legs.

"Hey, girl, what's going on?" I needed better pick up lines or something because she looked up at me and then sauntered off. Mmm, you know what? I needed to clean the litter box. Sifting through shit wasn't my favorite thing to do, but I'd rather do that than have my girls full of fleas and dodging speeding cars outside. Instead of keeping the bag of cat shit inside until tomorrow morning, I walked out to the nearby garbage bins to throw it out. On my way back, I heard a car horn and turned to see Emmett and Rose pulling into a spot near my car.

"What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you two out of work and not on a Friday night?" I asked as they walked toward me.

"We're bored," Emmett admitted. "We thought we'd come and bug ya. What are you up to?"

"I was cleaning up after my girls," I said. "How's that for fun?"

"Oooh, cat shit, fun, fun." Rose laughed. "What's for dinner?"

"Direct and to the point! I knew you two had an ulterior motive." I started toward my door, when I reached it, I stopped. "After you, you moochers."

"You cook better than both of us." Rose whispered before heading inside.

"She ain't kidding," Emmett said. "Rose can barely boil water."

"But she makes those kick ass brownies and cookies."

Emmett shrugged. "I don't get it either. The woman can bake something fierce, but don't ask her to make a meal. I'd go into a diabetic coma if I had to rely on her so-called cooking all the time."

"Emmett!"

He stuck his head inside of my doorway and looked up the stairs. "Coming, dear!"

I shook my head at him. "You're exaggerating, Emmett!"

"Seriously man, you're like my savior." He patted me on the back before continuing up the stairs.

I shut the door behind me and headed upstairs. I didn't mind being on the second floor, and I loved the fact that I didn't have a lobby to go through. Once I walked through my door, I was in my apartment. I went to the kitchen and started browsing through the cabinets. "Guys, I don't have much. You know unemployment and all." I had worked during the summer, but the summer session only lasted until the middle of August and now it was the beginning of September. A few weeks without your normal income could really mess with your finances. "I know something I can make, but I don't have any hamburger."

"Oooh, your Mexican Hamburger Helper wanna-be thingie Bake?" I had once made a box of Hamburger Helper and tweaked the recipe, adding to it and figuring out how to make it without buying the actual boxed product. For some reason, both Emmett and Rose loved the shit. It had become my "signature recipe." I nodded, and Rose opened her purse and sifted through it. "Emmett, how much do you have?"

Opening his wallet, Emmett searched for his money. "Yeah, I got some to add to that."

Rose passed her money over to Emmett. "Go next door to the supermarket and get a pound of hamburger."

"Okay!" he said enthusiastically. "I'll be back in a few!"

When he was halfway down the stairs, I ran over to the top of the landing. "If you have enough money, get one of those bagged salads."

"Yes, mother hen, hamburger and a bag of salad!" He opened the door and left without another word.

"Thanks for feeding us," Rose said. "We both appreciate it."

"Thanks for the company," I said with a wink. "Now, get your pretty ass in the kitchen and work on dessert. I went to the pantry last week and I think they gave me a box of brownie mix with your name on it. I'm going to search for some movies for Friday night."

Rose was well acquainted with my two butt kitchen and quickly went to work. Alice had started calling it a two butt kitchen after we crashed a party at another apartment complex. The kitchen was so tiny compared to mine you couldn't fit two people back to back in it without touching butts; hence, it was a one butt kitchen. In my apartment two people could stand back to back at each counter and not bump butts; thus, it was a two butt kitchen. I sat down at my computer desk and started searching through torrents for some entertainment. "Oooh, I found a copy of _The Hangover_. I hope it's a good, working copy."

"That movie was funny as hell!" Rose said from the kitchen. "Emmett and I went to see it when it was in the discount theater."

"Aw, well, that leaves it out for Friday night then." I decided to download it anyway for myself.

"No, no! Don't worry. That shit was so funny, I'm pretty sure Emmett wouldn't mind watching it again."

The download started, and I was on the lookout for some more movies. "What about _Pineapple Express_ and _Zack and Miri Make a Porno_?"

"Haven't seen them as far as I know," she said. "Brownies are in the oven." Rose came up and stood behind my chair as I searched. My door opened downstairs, and Emmett's telltale footsteps loudly proceeded up them.

"Dude, I have an elderly lady as a neighbor below me," I reminded him. "I do not need any problems with her. You know how some old people can be."

"I have an elderly lady as a neighbor, I don't want problems, old people are a pain in the ass." Emmett mocked me. "You are too, by the way."

"Do you want dinner or not?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He went and put the hamburger and salad in the kitchen. "I smell brownies! Now, get to work Bobby Flay! Feed me!"

Emmett flopped down on my couch and turned on the TV while Rose followed me back into the kitchen, which was unusual. "What? You want to learn how to cook now?"

"No! Hell, I _wish_!" Emmett said from the living room. "She's being nosey!"

"You seriously need an apartment with the kitchen set farther away from the living room," she moaned. "You don't even have a real dining area to sit at."

"It's what I can afford right now, thank you." I grabbed some ingredients out of the pantry. It was kind of annoying how the one end of the living room closest to the kitchen was supposed to serve as a dining area. My computer was against that wall and a small, round kitchen table that barely fit the three of us was next to it. "If I didn't live here in HUD housing, I'd be living with you two. God help us all."

"You couldn't handle the screams of passion!" Emmett yelled. "No, you could _not_!"

"Shut up and watch something!" I yelled back at him.

"Yeah, I know, money is tight," Rose said. "How'd this afternoon go?"

"You mean with my new monitor?" I asked. "You're being real slick, Rose."

"Alice called and was bugging me to find out!" she explained. "She's been dying to add a sixth member to our little cult, but everyone at the Hell Hole sucks. Alice wants to know if your new chick is worthy or not."

I started to laugh at Emmett's voice from the living room. "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

"Shut up already!" Rose yelled. "Do you want two weeks with no sex?"

At her question, the only sound we heard was the noise from the television. "Listen, her name is Bella and I don't know much about her. She seems nice, but it was her first day. I don't even know if she spoke to anyone else at work. You know how most of the other people at the Hell Hole are. They can't stand us because we're tight and we don't fall for their bullshit and games. Bella was good with the kids, but at the same time it seemed like she's never done this kind of work before. She didn't talk about herself except to say she missed work this morning because she was at the hospital all night with her sick roommate."

"She was at the hospital all night with a sick friend? Mmm, she could be good people," Rose thought aloud. "Alice was thinking that when you guys are here Friday night, that we'd have a girls night of our own."

"Wait, I just had a purely Emmett comment pop into my head." I heard Emmett trying, but not succeeding, at stifling more laughter. "Does that mean you want to invite Bella and have a hot, all girl threesome?" Emmett's snickering grew louder. "Or did you want to invite her here and then we could have a sixsome… or whatever that's called."

"Orgy!" Emmett yelled. "Orgy! Shit, get it right, man."

"Oh yeah, Edward, I've always secretly wanted you to fuck me while I sucked Emmett off," she said sarcastically and leaned against the counter. "I've never been brave enough to tell you that I wanted you."

I heard Emmett growl. "Stop talking dirty to Edward! It's making me horny!"

I shook my head at Emmett's comment. "You are dating one very strange man. You know that right?"

"It's just not dating anymore. I'm living with him and you, my dear Edward, have known him for longer than I have," she said with a smile. "You know what a sick fuck he is."

"Heeeeey, I resemble that remark!" Emmett grumbled. "Ooooh, _Sponge Bob_!"

"That is the _stupidest_ cartoon _ever_!" I yelled to him before redirecting my attention to Rose. "I don't know if Bella will want to hang out with you. I'll see how tomorrow goes and if she talks more at all."

"Okay, let me or Alice know how it goes, 'kay?" She almost sounded like a Valley Girl, so I knew she was excited at the prospect of adding a sixth member to our little cult. Rose and Alice both liked even numbers, and we had been an odd numbered cult for a while. It disturbed them for some reason. I didn't get it.

"'kay!" I said, mocking her. "Go join Mr. Tugs-A-Lot."

The rest of the evening went by at a faster pace. We had dinner and dessert, watched some TV, and then Rose and Emmett left to go back to their place. Tired, I decided to climb into bed and try to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up to my alarm clock blaring loudly. It was far too early in the morning for this shit… and by shit, I meant just being awake. I shit, showered, shaved, and headed to work. I had to wake up almost an hour earlier than I was used to because we were going to Tyson's school. My body didn't like it one bit, and it was rebelling every chance it could get. Arriving twenty minutes before we left, I went and filled my travel mug up with coffee for the long ride. I was surprised to see Bella sitting at a table with Angela in the break room. "Morning, girls." I greeted them as cheerily as I could muster at the early hour and sat down.

"Good morning, Edward." Angela said and quickly took a sip of her tea. She seemed like a nice but shy girl to me. Alice once told me she thought that Angela had an unrequited crush on me. I had talked to Angela on numerous occasions, and she had even filled in as a monitor for me, but I didn't have any kind of spark with her. If she hadn't hung out with Jessica and Lauren, I could've seen her as a sixth member of our group.

Bella rubbed her bloodshot eyes and yawned. "Morning, Edward."

"You're not a morning person either, I presume?"

"The devil created mornings and morning people," she mumbled as she raised a cup of coffee to her lips. "I want to kill morning people."

"I hear ya," I said. "They are way too bright and cheerful."

"Good morning everyone!" Because the three of us felt half asleep we didn't notice when Jessica and her big ass rack started hovering next to our table.

I wanted to take a picture of the look on Bella's face when she saw Jessica. It was classic "bitchface" as Alice called it. "Mornin'," she said unenthusiastically.

"And annoying, don't forget annoying." I said, completing our conversation about morning people before Jessica had walked in.

"Wait, what we were we walking about?" Angela asked.

She was daring me. I knew it. She had a cute little smirk on her face. From my unfortunate time spent with Jessica, I knew that she was a morning person. "How morning people infuriate us because they are too bright, cheerful, and annoying at much too early of a time."

Angela giggled and sipped at her tea. "Oooh, right."

My comment either went over her head or she decided to totally ignore it. "So how'd it go yesterday with Bella?" Jessica asked.

"Why don't you ask her?" I said. "She's sitting right here." I pointed to Bella and refrained from adding "you dumb fuck" onto the end of my sentence.

"I thought it went well," Bella supplied before Jessica could repeat her question. "Right, Edward?"

"Yup." I quickly sipped on my coffee to shut myself up. "It's about time we head down to the bus."

Bella threw away her Styrofoam coffee cup, and Angela followed us out the back door. It was still dark out and should've been brighter at the current time. "Crap, it looks like it's going to rain today. Hey, where are you going already, Ang?" I asked curiously. "I know you're here early because you come in with Jessica, but you don't need to go anywhere yet."

"I know you don't have to leave for another ten minutes, Masen," Angela said with a devilish smile. "I needed to get away from the bitch, too."

Bella and I started laughing. "Oh, all is not perfect in paradise with Jessica Stanley?"

"Ha!" Angela looked around for anyone that might be in the vicinity. "Can I tell you something?" We both silently nodded our heads. "I only put up with Jessica because she's my cousin. I can't stand the bitch ass whore."

Surprised at my new found knowledge, not to mention Angela's vulgarity, I started laughing hysterically. I put an arm around Angela. "You're cousins, huh? Poor girl! I totally sympathize with your hatred. We should be President and Vice President of the 'I hate Jessica' anti-fan club."

"I'm her cousin _and_ I'm currently living with her, so like, I totally get to be President," she said. "It's only fair."

"Duly noted," I said as we stopped in front of my bus. "Bella, do you want in?"

"Hell yeah, I want a piece of this action," she said slyly. "I'll be the Secretary if you'll take me."

"You're sworn in as far as I'm concerned." Angela stepped out from under my arm. "Don't you have to actually leave soon?"

"I have to pull the bus out to pre-trip it." I explained. "Come on, gals."

Both Angela and Bella boarded the bus, and I moved it while they talked for another few minutes during my inspection. "Okay, Ang, sorry, but I have to kick your ass out, honey. We've got to get going."

"Okay, I'm going to go bunker down on my bus and wait for my driver," Angela said. "Otherwise, Jessica will talk to me in the break room and I'll have homicidal thoughts involving bludgeoning her to death."

I laughed again. All this time I had another alley in hate against Jessica and I never knew it. "I think a fire extinguisher would work wonders against her head. See ya later!"

"Bye guys!"

Angela walked toward the yard with the big buses. I took note of Jasper standing by an open bay of the garage. He was looking at me, shaking his head in confusion. Pulling my bus up next to the garage near where he was standing, I rolled down my window. "What the hell was _that_ about?" he asked.

"She's cool," I explained. "I think she's sixth member material."

"You sure? That would make Alice and Rose happy." I knew he was skeptical of my words by the expression on his face.

"Pretty damn sure after what we learned this morning," I said. "I'll fill ya in more later. We've gotta go."

Jasper threw out his normal "Bye, bitch!" while I rolled up my window. We picked up the kids and were off toward their schools. Tyson continued to give Bella a hard time, removing his seat belt at least three times that I knew of. David started making some of his telltale noises and I thought he was going to go off, but he never did. I warned Bella, and she hopped into the seat with Brandon for a few minutes. Xavier continued to be in his own little world in the back and if I didn't know better, he enjoyed the oldies music more than I did. I was thankful that we were able to drop Tyson off first because I didn't know how we would sit with him for thirty minutes. The ten or fifteen minutes in the afternoon while in line up were going to be hard enough.

I pulled into the first spot at the school, turned off the bus, and stood up to stretch my legs. "We're here about a half an hour early," I told Bella. "Their school starts at eight forty-five."

"Wow," she said. "That's a long wait for them, isn't it?"

"This is the first year I've had to do it this way, so we'll see how well they handle it. Tyson went to another school somewhere a little more south so he was in a car by himself." Brandon unclicked his seatbelt and Bella looked at me as he started to get up. "It's okay, he comes up here and hangs out with me."

"Okay, I wasn't sure of his routine," she said. "I know some autistic kids are very into their routines."

"I don't miss work all that often, so I'm not sure how another driver would handle this."

"If that ever happens I guess I'll have to tell the other driver what normally happens," she said. "Maybe he won't go to them like he goes to you."

Brandon came over to me and held up his hand so I held mine up as well. As usual, he clapped his palm against mine and then started playing with my fingers. With my right hand, I removed the broken tape from the garbage. "Hey, Xavier!" He turned and looked in my direction. "Remember "Wheels on the Bus"? This is what happened to the tape!"

Xavier started laughing, almost squealing, and then clapped his hands together. "Dumb song! I don't like it. Good morning, Edward. Good morning, Bella."

Bella turned in her seat to face Xavier. "Good morning, Xavier. What are you going to do in school today?"

"Social Studies and lunch," he said. "And Art."

"Oooh, sounds fun, can I come?"

"Sure! Bella can come to school with me!" Xavier did his nervous squealing thing, flicking his ears with both his hands, and laughed again. "Can we have music, Edward?"

"The music goes off when the bus is turned off," I explained. "I'll put the music on this afternoon, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Eeeeeee!" The noise came from David and then he kicked the back of the seat in front of him. "Eeee!"

"It's okay, David, we have to wait a little while before your teacher comes out for you." Bella looked up at me from her spot next to David. "I'm wondering how well he's going to handle this wait."

"I know we're close to Tyson's school, but he should have his own vehicle." David started making more noises and was rocking himself back and forth more quickly. "Bella, I think it'd be a good idea if you moved right now."

She backed out of the seat and toward Xavier's location. I moved past Brandon and he hid behind me. "Stay there, bud."

David's voice got louder until he started to scream. Xavier and Brandon covered their ears with their hands, and I turned to check on Brandon and saw that he was very upset. David's screaming calmed down, but he soon shifted in his seat and lay down on it. When his feet made contact with the window, I moved forward and did what his mother not only gave me permission to do, but also showed me. I carefully walked down the aisle toward him and edged my way down into the seat, facing him. Watching for flying body parts (because I had gotten hit plenty of times in the past), I hoisted David's back up against me, pinned his arms against his body, effectively blocking him from being able to hit me. I actually shifted him closer to the window so he couldn't extend his legs and kick out at me. "Calm down, David, it's okay," I said as I rocked him back and forth. "Calm down."

After a few minutes, David calmed down and I was able to release him. I looked up to see that Bella was still watching us closely from her position next to Xavier. "I have to get a letter from his mother again stating that we can do that. That's what she wants us to do when that happens. We don't want him to break the window or hurt himself. Restraining doesn't work for all kids like that, but she said it works with him and we're not actually supposed to touch the kids. So, that's what you'll need to do if he does that again."

"Okay." She appeared a little surprised her eyes big with wonder and turned her attention to Xavier. "You okay, big guy?"

"David done?" His head peeked out from around Bella and he was still holding his hands over his ears. "David done?"

I glanced down at David who was sniffing and realized I had his snot on my arm from where he was crying. Crap, I had forgotten to bring the hand sanitizer back on the bus. "Are you all done, David? Tell me, say yes or no."

David opened his eyes and stared at the window. "Yes."

Letting go of David, he sat up and wiped the snot from his face with the sleeve of his shirt. I rubbed my arm against my jeans and looked up at Brandon. He was anxious, on the tips of his sneakered toes, dancing in place, and making lots of noises. He didn't like it when David went off. I noticed he also didn't like really bright sun, thunderstorms, or other loud noises in general. As soon as he saw me he crossed his arms across his chest, silently asking for a hug. I went over and let him hug me, but then he didn't want to let go—he continued to cling to me for dear life. David's teacher came first and we told her what happened while we were waiting. She told us to document how often his outbursts happened while we were waiting in the morning since it was a new routine and extra long wait. A teacher's assistant came to get Brandon—one that he was not as familiar with—and he didn't want to leave with him.

"Bella, can you give me Brandon's back pack?" Bella passed it to me and I carefully made my way down the steps with Brandon practically attached at my hip. "I'll be right back, stay here with Xavier."

I walked Brandon to his classroom with the aide and thankfully he had calmed down so I was able to leave. Before I went back out to the bus I stopped at a bathroom and washed my hands and arm free of David's snot.

"Okay, everyone okay in here?" I asked as I boarded the bus again. Bella was in the back sitting across from Xavier.

"Where are we going, Xavier?" she asked him.

"We'll see." It was his standard response for a lot of questions.

"I think we're going to your school now," she said.

"We'll see."

After we dropped off Xavier, Bella came back up front and sat in the first seat opposite me. "You were fucking amazing with David."

I shrugged. "You'll get the hang of it. I hope we don't have to go through that every morning."

"You should get hazard pay. Ever get hit by the kids, even by accident?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, plenty of times," I replied. "David started on this run at the same time as I started driving it. They had just started him on a new medication and he was wild as hell. We got beat up so much, you would've thought me and my monitor were in abusive relationships at the time."

"They never mentioned needing body armor for this job!"

"It's in the fine print." I tried not to laugh. "It's waaaaay down on the bottom of the application and you need a magnifying glass to see it."

"Bastards!"

"Yes, they are!"

"Aro and Demetri?"

I checked my mirrors for traffic before merging onto the highway. "Yes, Aro and Demetri are bastards. They may seem nice, but it's all a game. You need to watch what you say at work and to who you say it. It's worse than… well, the cliques in high school. You say something and then it goes into the Gossip Mill. Everything gets twisted and passed around and when the story gets back to you, it never resembles what you said in the first place."

"Oh, what a lovely work environment I've found myself in," Bella said sarcastically. If I could've seen her face, I'm sure she would've rolled her eyes with her words. "You know, yesterday afternoon when I came in, Demetri referred to you and your friends as 'Edward and his merry band of misfits,' mentioned you were always early, and that it was the best thing that he could say about you."

"Fucking bastard."

"He kind of gave me the creeps," she admitted. "He was looking at me really weird."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about Demetri, at least in that way. He's gay." I glanced quickly in my overhead mirror to catch the look of surprise on Bella's face at my words. "Damn, does this make me Robin Hood now or some shit? Can I rob from the rich and give to myself and my fellow misfits? Want to be my Maid Marian?"

"Sure, why the hell not?" she said. "I'm already deep into the Jessica Stanley anti-fan club. Why does Demetri dislike you so much?"

"It's just not Demetri, it's all of them in the office. I think it's because we don't kiss their asses and we won't take their attitude," I explained. "If they talk to me all bitchy-like, I throw it right back at 'em."

"Sounds reasonable to me." I heard Bella yawn.

"You sound tired."

"I am, I really didn't sleep well last night," she said, stifling another yawn. "Do you mind if I take a nap for the rest of the way? Or at least try. I'm not sure how comfortable I'm going to be able to get in this seat."

"Go ahead and rest."

Bella must've found a comfortable position because I didn't hear from her again. I didn't hear snoring or anything, but I didn't hear her speak up again either. It started pouring rain at one point, but it let up some by the time I reached town. I wasn't supposed to, but when I reached the base I went ahead and fueled the bus up with her still in it. Parking the bus, I turned in my seat to see Bella still slumped against the window. "Bella?" I climbed out and sat down in the seat opposite of her sleeping form. "Bella? Sweetie, wake up." I gently shook her knee and she didn't respond. Damn, she was either a deep sleeper or she wasn't kidding about not sleeping well last night. "Bella?" I touched her arm and shook her a little harder. Concerned that she wasn't waking up, my fingers made contact with the pulse point at her neck. Christ, all I needed was to be driving around a dead person. I wasn't a freakin' mortician! Bella's eyes flew open, and I retracted my hands from her.

"What?" she asked her voice full of surprise and confusion. "Why are we stopped?"

"We're back and you weren't waking up," I explained. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, sorry." Bella rubbed her eyes and yawned. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she looked around and noticed we were parked in our spot. "You startled me. I told you I didn't get much sleep last night."

"You okay then?"

"Yeah." Bella raised her hands above her head and stretched. "Some company I am. Hey, because of the seat blocking my view, I really couldn't tell what you did with David before. Can you show me or something?"

"Sure, turn around and face the window." She did as I instructed. "Now, the best way to do this is with their back or side to you. You don't want them to be facing you because Jessica tried that once and she was bit in the tit and had to go for a tetanus shot."

Bella turned and faced me. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Nuh uh, I don't kid about what may be some long last damage to a female's body part, even if it is Jessica's. Now, turn around again." Bella turned, and I moved closer to her and over her shoulder I was almost able to see down her loose fitting shirt. "Um, yeah, so do this from the back or their side so you don't damage your girls. Try to get your arms around them and secure 'em against their body and your arms like this." I wrapped my arms around Bella, trapping her arms between mine and her body. "You should put your arms in two positions, one lower and one higher." I slid my left arm down her body, near her waist, while my right arm unintentionally stopped over her chest and I prayed I wasn't going to get slapped with a sexual harassment suit. "What works best with David is to make sure his legs are up against the wall so he can't kick out. Hold him real close to you with a firm grasp and rock him back and forth until he calms down." I moved closer and tightened my arms around Bella and demonstrated the rocking motion I had always used with him. My face was buried in her hair, and I couldn't help but notice how nice it smelled. "Okay?"

"Okay, I got it," Bella said. "You can stop copping a feel and let go of me now."

"Sorry!" I immediately let go over and jumped out of the seat and to the one opposite her.

"I'm kidding, Edward, I'm kidding!"

I started laughing as she turned around to face me. Was I copping a feel? It felt really good to have her in my arms. "You never know with people nowadays."

"I'm not like that." Bella glanced back out the window. "Oh, man, it rained?"

"It's still raining," I said. "In fact, I think it's picking up again. I thought I saw you walking yesterday after work. Do you need a ride somewhere?"

"I don't want to put you out like that."

"Depending on where you're going, you might not be." I found that I traveled to and from work using a certain route, but I could go a few different ways. "Where's home at?"

"I was going to go to the library, actually."

Bella seemed a little put off by my questioning. "I can drop you off there. I don't usually go downtown to go home, but it's not out of my way."

"Are you sure?" We stepped off the bus through the passenger door, and I pushed it closed behind me.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said. "Go punch out and I'll pull up to the front."

"Okay, see ya in a minute!"

She hurried up the side of the building and I noticed Jasper standing by the old tires, which just so happened to be across from where I parked my bus and we met halfway in the lot. "What?"

"Just what in the hell were you two doing on your bus?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I was showing Bella how I restrain David so she knows how to do it." He stood there silently, staring suspiciously at me. "What? He went off this morning and I dealt with him."

"Uh huh." Jasper nodded. "So that's your new pick up line, huh? 'Let me show you how I restrain an autistic kid on my bus,' huh? Sorry, I don't know if I can see that working at the bars."

"I am _not_ amused, Jasper."

"Did she feel good in your arms?"

Did he read my mind? "Totally makes me want to rethink my self-imposed dating embargo."

"I don't know why the hell you did that to yourself, seriously man," he said, shaking his head. "Go find a fine woman to fuck or something."

I groaned at his remark, sometimes wishing I had the balls to do what Jasper said. "You know I'm not like that."

"I know, I know! You're a nice guy who's tired of women wanting you to be their sugar daddy…blah, blah, and you decided to take a break from dating."

The rain was coming down harder, and I could feel my skin getting wet through my shirt. "I'm getting soaked, so I'm gonna go now, pal." My words came out in a more sarcastic tone than I had intended. "Bella's probably wondering where I am. Because of the weather, I told her I'd drop her off at the library."

"Ever the chivalrous gentleman, Edward. Okay, I'll see you later," Jasper said. "Don't try to restrain Bella in your car or anything." There was a smile on his lips as he said the word 'restrain.'

"Shudda up!" I ran to my car, unintentionally stepping in a huge ass puddle and soaking the bottom of my jeans. Bella was still up front, waiting for me under the awning when I pulled up and threw my car—an '89 Toyota Camry—into park. Leaning over, I unlocked the passenger door, cursing the day the automatic locks broke. Bella stepped out from the cover of the awning, opened the door, and slid inside. "Sorry, Jasper caught me and he was chewing on my ear."

"Oh, okay, that's not a problem." She reached back for the seat belt and clicked it into place. "I didn't see notice you pulling out of the lot, so I thought you had a problem with your car."

"Naw, she's old, but she runs pretty well." I shifted into drive and put my foot on the gas.

"Yeah, she runs pretty well." Bella laughed, and I knew it was at my car. "What is that?"

"The buzzing noise?" I asked and she nodded her head. "It's the muffler. Jasper said it's fine to drive." Pulling out of the lot, I snuck a sideways glance at Bella and saw a smile on her lips.

"It sounds like a huge horde of bees are trailing behind you." Then she had to imitate the horde of bees like Emmett had done once.

"Hey, hey now, she gets me to where I need to go," I said defensively before turning to a more joking tone. "If you don't like traveling with some bees, you can walk in the rain ya know."

"You are too much of a gentleman to make me walk in the rain." At her words, it started to pour. "Oh, wow, please don't throw me out now!"

"Nah, 'cause if you get sick and have to call out of work, then I might just be stuck with Jessica again." I had just gotten rid of Jessica as my monitor and I didn't want her back any time soon.

I went into the parking lot of the library and dropped Bella at the curb so she wouldn't get soaked. "If you need a ride back, I can come back this way."

"I don't want to inconvenience you." Her voice sounded low and sad.

"You're not," I insisted. "Go over to the hardware store across the street and stand in the doorway. I'll swing by around twelve-fifty."

"Okay, thanks, Edward." She unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. "I'll see you later." Once her door was open, she hurried and ran toward the front doors of the library. I pulled away, questioning the sudden dull ache in my chest. It had appeared ever since I had held Bella in my arms.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, Edward is once again a cat guy. He'll always be a cat guy in my stories. I'm a cat person and don't know a thing about dogs.


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